Goodbye phones, hello Teams: how NTT DATA helped Informa make voice an asset (Guest blog from NTT Data)

Author: Mandy Swan Brown, Global Client Manager at NTT DATA

Informa is an international events and digital services group with 11,000 employees in more than 30 countries – so, when they decided to switch more than 10,000 phone numbers to a single cloud-calling solution, they knew they needed not just a partner with a local presence and global reach but one that could help them make the business case and deliver end-to-end project management, a range of services and innovation.

Over time, Informa’s business acquisitions had led to seven telephony and communications systems spread over five businesses, patched together in a range of complicated ways.

They wanted to move away from phones on desks and, as part of their cloud-first strategy, adopt cloud calling in the form of a Microsoft Teams solution using Operator Connect. They chose NTT DATA to implement and manage a single global system, with round-the-clock support.

But change management is just as important as the technology. So, we also combined usage and adoption training with communication from managers to overcome resistance from employees who were very attached to their physical phones.

Calculating real returns

The cloud-based solution has improved Informa’s cybersecurity – and , because it requires less physical infrastructure, it’s also saved costs and reduced their carbon footprint.

Sustainability is one of Informa’s core business goals. Their ‘FasterForward’ program aims to embed sustainability into their business operations, brands, products and broader community impact.

These ambitions also reflect NTT’s sustainability initiatives under the themes of Connected Planet, Connected Economy and Connected Communities.

During our initial engagement with Informa, we calculated their potential return on investment in a cloud-based strategy in both a monetary sense and in terms of their carbon footprint. Then we examined the overheads of Informa’s phone systems and interviewed employees at all levels to understand how they could communicate more sustainably and efficiently.

NTT DATA’s consultants also used data on finding cost efficiencies and reducing complexity to help Informa reach consensus among its various businesses on the next step in their journey to collaboration in the cloud. Shortly after, the COVID-19 lockdown enforced remote working and proved that their switch to cloud-based communications had been a timely move.

Communication contributes to great EX

Employee experience (EX) is hugely important to Informa – especially as nearly 6 in 10 people worldwide now work remotely all or some of the time, according to NTT DATA’s 2023 Global Employee Experience Trends Report. The shift to cloud-based communications has helped Informa connect their employees globally and enabled them to work productively from anywhere.

This experience mirrors that of many other organisations that have made the shift to hybrid working. They’re rethinking their workspaces and policies to accommodate both remote and office-based employees – because equipping people with the right tools and technology to do their jobs efficiently, is one of the main ways of improving their EX.

In the NTT report, EX emerges as the number-one C-suite concern in the context of Customer Experience (CX): 91% of organisations agree that improving their EX will directly affect their bottom line, while 96% agree that aligning their CX and EX strategies will have a significant impact on enterprise growth.

The report also finds that technology enablement – through communication and collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams – tops the list of ways to improve EX in the next year.

The journey continues

New technologies such as cloud and AI don’t instantly solve business problems. Organisations must also evolve their business processes in parallel.

So, during our consulting with Informa, we’ve also focused on processes in their contact centers. Now, we are continuing with efforts to help them improve their workplace environment and customer engagement.

Optimising newly consolidated and cloud-based services in this way is important in an organisation like Informa, where businesses in the group have a fair amount of autonomy.

The benefits of working with a managed service provider like NTT DATA is the breadth and scale of our global expertise, which means we can take a holistic view of a client’s operations and adapt swiftly to unforeseen challenges during or after a project.

In the case of Informa, such a challenge arose when cloud-based call recording was being implemented but there was no provision yet for call reporting. We were able to quickly put together a bespoke, automated solution delivered from our South African office, allowing Informa to report by country, by business or by division.

As one of Microsoft’s top Operator Connect performers globally, with more than 320,000 users, we can guide our clients on their journey to Microsoft Teams, all the way from planning and design to enabling Global Voice through Operator Connect and offering our full-time support services.

Isn’t it time to rethink your organisation’s communications too?

Read the full Informa case study and find out more about NTT’s Digital Collaboration & CX services.